About Me

My photo
My heart beats for love. I want to be different. I want to be who I am called to be. WORTHY and LOVED!

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Renegade Gospel: Discovering the Rebel Jesus John 14:6

This morning’s scripture verse is one that has been debated over by Christians for centuries. It is one that is catchy and often finds its way on to church signs and bulletin boards on the side of the highway. But I have to wonder if we ever took time to examine what we mean when we say that Jesus is the truth. 
I have a ministry coach who I talk to monthly. One of her favorite things to say is that just because something is true, that does not make it the Truth with a capital ’T’. This is the type of truth that Jesus is - capital ’T’ truth. But sadly, for too many churches this type of truth isn’t reflected in their worship and service. Instead, as the church we have often confused the Truth of Christ with our desires and personal preferences.
Over the next several weeks we are going to be discussing something uncomfortable - Jesus’ truth. Some of you are going to end up getting mad at me, because I’m going to invite you to set aside the lens of what you believe is true in order to re-discover Jesus. We are going to explore some of the scripture verses that reflect Jesus’ truth, the words that some of you may find printed in the color red in your Bibles. And we are going to come back to this mornings scripture verse about what Jesus means when he says that he is the way, the truth, and the life. I’m going to apologize in advance if this sermon series make you comfortable, because I know that it is trying. I too was faced with some unpleasant truths as I read the book this sermon series and our parish Lenten Bible study will be based off of, Pastor Mike Slaughter’s The Renegade Gospel. It’s uncomfortable because too many of us have stopped looking for Jesus and instead have made Jesus into who we wanted him to be - culturally, politically, and theologically - and we no longer now which version of Jesus is the Truth, the Way, and the Life. The Truth is Jesus isn’t republican or democrat. Jesus isn’t just the savior of America. Jesus is the Good News - the gospel Truth embodied, God in the flesh. 
Pastor Slaughter states, “We often forget that Jesus was a member of the marginalized and persecuted minority.” We forget that Jesus was a refugee because of genocide. We forget that he wasn’t white. And we forget that he wasn’t like by the religious leaders of the day. And neither were his followers - in fact all of his disciples except for two died a martyrs death. The only ones who didn’t were Judas who took his own life and John who died on an island in exile. What would lead so many of his disciples to die a martyrs death? They believe the Truth of Christ. They believed that he was Lord and that he had all authority over their lives. Jesus’s radical stance and radical demands on his disciples changed their lives to the point where they were willing to die for what they believed, which ultimately changed the world. 
The reality is, however, that this is rarely the Jesus that we were taught about in Sunday School, or is preached on, or even studied in Bible Studies. But we’ve done ourselves, as followers of Christ, a dis-service by only talking about the Jesus that we knew in Sunday School.  For a few years I taught Sunday School to kindergartners and for many years I dramatized Biblical Stories at Vacation Bible School. For those stories, we often had to edit them - to take out the parts that would cause parents to be uncomfortable if their child went home and retold the story. We took out details that were not child friendly or appropriate. But for too many of us, our knowledge of Biblical stories stopped in Sunday School, instead of growing to know the Jesus of the Bible, the red-letter Jesus, as an adult.
I want you to think of someone you knew who was passionate and enthusastic about their faith life? Do you have that person in mind? My guess is that person, even though I never met them, knew the Jesus found in scriptures. The radical Jesus that his disciples, both in the past and today, were willing to put their life on the line for. There aren’t enough Christians like this around today. Far too many of us never encountered the Jesus of scriptures in such a way that we were transformed and our lives were re-arranged. Instead, we made Jesus into someone who is docile and only offers comfort instead of words of challenge. The Jesus in the Bible was so radical that he started a movement that spread like wildfire - and it breaks my heart that some of us can go our whole lives without knowing this contagious Jesus. Instead we’ve made him into a God that makes us feel safe, instead of one who changed the world. 
For when we encounter this radical Lord, we have a choice to make - if we are going to follow him. If we are passionate about what he is passionate about. If he will truly be our first love. But, as the Church, we’ve set aside hard questions like this, set aside even asking people if they have encountered this Jesus, and have taken the type of discipleship shown by his first followers with other things - what it means to be a good citizen, or a good church member, or a  nice person. Brothers and sisters, these were not the things of Jesus’ heart and mind when he came to save the world.
And the more distance we have put between ourselves and the Jesus of scriptures, the more we have made church into a place to go, a building, instead of remembering that we are the church as the people of God. We are the tool God wants to use to transform the current state of our world. But all too often we get caught up in different things, and have made Jesus someone to believe in, instead of someone to love and follow and be wholly dedicated to. 
Now don’t mishear me, this is not true of all people and all places. According to Pastor Slaughter, “The places in the world today where Christianity is growing the fastest are those countries where Christianity is still illegal and Christians are being persecuted by their government.” I have friends who have served as missionaries in such countries and their accounts mirror those of Pastor Slaughter. In places where people need to really decide in their faith in Christ is worth dying for, his Word spreads like that wildfire of the first centuries. Because they are actually engaging the Word, making their own decision, and dedicating their entire lives to it, no matter what the cost. 
This is also one of the reasons that I love working with college students so much. At a time when they are away from their homes, parents, and faith communities, they have a choice to make - whether Jesus is worth giving their all too. And many of them begin reading the scriptures for themselves and discover as Mike Slaughter writes that, “The real Jesus was pro-love and pro-peace, yet unafraid to challenge the hypocritical religious status quo regardless of consequences.” That the Jesus they grew up hearing about isn’t the same one on the pages of their Bibles. And they radically commit their lives to the Truth of Christ. They start to realize that it isn’t just about knowing Christ or believing him, for even the demons knew Christ by name and believed in his power, but about the saving and radical way of the one who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. 

Believing alone will not save us. And Christ did not come to this earth simply to be believed in or so we can get to heaven. Christ came so that we can have the promised life now and have it abundantly. And that isn’t a promise or a call that is dependent upon any particular life stage or age. Its the call of the Real Rebel Jesus - the Jesus who changed lives and changed the world. Is this the Jesus you know? Is this the Jesus you want to follow? Amen. 

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Forgiving Other Matthew 6: 14-15 Col 3:13 Matthew 18:21-22

We are starting off this morning with a tough topic - forgiveness. For the next two weeks we are going to be discussing what it means to forgive others and ourselves. What it means to be in relationship with other people. This is one of the topics that was selected by a congregation member, and I find it deeply important for the world that we live in. Most of us have  personal stories or know of close friends who have stories of broken relationships. Deep hurts. Un-forgiveness. Is this God’s plan for us? Is there a better way?
Part of life is being hurt. Its an ugly, but true fact. In the words of Pastor Adam Hamilton, “We are bound to hurt others and other are bound to hurt us.” But this is not how God imagined or wanted life to be for us. Emotional hurts are a direct result of Adam and Eve disobeying God, they are a consequence of free will, and stumbling into sin. God wants us to repent of the harm that we cause others (which we will be discussing more next week) and wants us to seek to forgive others for the pain that they cause us, though this is often easier said than done. 
Because the world we live in is filled with brokenness, forgiveness is essential to life. In fact, if we do not forgive, we often perpetuate the cycle of hurting others. But as Christians we believe that Jesus taught us a counter-cultural way to live by both his example and teachings on forgiveness. Jesus ultimately did as he taught, forgiving even the people who called for him to be crucified and those who mocked and beat him as he hung on the cross. He suffered pain and humiliation that is hard for many of us to even fathom, yet he asked God to forgive those gathered around the cross that day. And he forgave his disciples even though they turned their backs on him, only one staying by his side as he died. But Jesus also calls us as his followers to live into his example of forgiving others, even asking the disciples to go to the very ends of the earth announcing the forgiveness of sins. However, we know the actual act of forgiveness can be unspeakably difficult at times.
One of Jesus’s first teachings to the disciples about forgiveness came as part of the Lord’s prayer, which he repeated throughout his time on earth - “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us”. We pray this prayer together each and every Sunday, 52 weeks a year. But have you let those words capture your soul? Do we mean what we pray? We are asking God to forgive us as we, or in the same way, that we forgive others. Thats powerful. How would God respond to you if you are being judged in the exact manner that you judge others? Would God quickly forgive you? Hold a grudge? Try to let things go, but find that they keep coming up in your mind and spirit?
Thankfully, God does not judge us as we judge others, but I think if we let the Lord’s Prayer transform us from the inside out, if we mean what we pray, than we will be more prone to forgive. But I also think that one of the reasons we are slow to forgive is because we don’t exactly know what forgiveness means or looks like in our daily lives. Even the best relationships in our lives have conflict. Most of the conflict are small things - irritations and disappointments - but if we don’t actively choose to forgive the small things, they often fester and infect our soul. Other conflicts are like boulders, weighing on us. But whether we have to make a decision about forgiving small or large conflicts, it boils down to the same basic question: are we going to choose justice or mercy?
I had a friend in high school who dealt with conflict big or small in the same way - he would ignore you. If you had done something wrong you would know it because you were shown the silent treatment until you accurately figured out what you had done and apologized. This was his way of seeking out justice. You had hurt him, so he was going to hurt you by ignoring you. Now he may not have explained it that way if you asked him, but that is what he was doing. But before you start criticizing my friend, I think we need to each examine our hearts and see if we do the same thing from time to time. Where are the places in our lives when we demand an eye or an eye, or a hurt for a hurt? How do you respond when someone hurts you - by seeking to hurt them in return, even if its just by ignoring them? Or by the words you choose to say? Justice seeks to right wrongs through punishment - though we each have a different way of inflicting punishment on others. On the other hand, mercy is forgiving someone. Offering to them what they cannot earn or deserve. 
At times justice may seem really appealing, so why would we choose mercy? Because God choose to show mercy to us - by offering us life through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Through his example, teachings, death and resurrection Jesus modeled for us what it looks like to love someone instead of seeking to punish them. 
We also get confused because we don’t know what to do if we have a conflict with someone or if we have been wronged. In Paul’s letter to the Colossians he writes that we are to forgive whenever we have been wronged. But how is this possible? Especially when righteous anger seems to simmer inside of us? First, and most importantly, we are to pray for those who hurt us, bringing our pain before God. As you pray to God, remember your own shortcomings. Remember ways that you have harmed others in relationships, by doing so you may be more able to offer grace because of the grace you have been freely offered. As you pray, ask God to reveal to you the very best about the person, helping you focus on their positive attributes instead of simply the wrong before you. And then pray for the person by name. Pray that God blesses them, even in the midst of your hurt.  Praying this type of prayer often helps us let go of our need, our right, for retribution and opens up our heart to offer mercy. 
However, a few words of caution about approaching forgiveness in this way. First, notice that you are talking to God about the complaint, not other people. Often we have a tendency to gather people in our corner when we feel we are wronged, as if we are preparing for battle. Please don’t do this. It just makes it easier to perpetuate hurt feelings and hide behind anger. This type of prayer asks us to strip away the layers of the hurt by bringing it before God so we can offer mercy. That’s a lot harder if other people are chanting for you to seek justice instead. Second, through this prayer, God may prompt you to sit down and talk to the person face to face. This is difficult, but is much better than telling everyone else about our problem instead of telling the person directly. But when we choose to show mercy, we shine forth the light and message of Christ, who forgave us. 
Lastly, we are confused about what it means to continually forgive. I’ve heard every message there is about forgiveness from you need to be a doormat who allows people to mistreat you because its what Jesus would do, to you need to seek vengeance is the form of an eye for an eye, because its scriptural. But this morning we hear Jesus telling Peter to continually forgive. To forgive more times then you could possibly remember. But this does not mean that we forget, or that there are not consequences to the pains that we face. Forgiveness is not the same as condoning. Sometimes people have hurt us so deeply that even after we choose to forgive them that we still must seek to rebuild trust.
Notice that Jesus is giving Peter this teaching about those in the church - those that we are in relationship with. Often it is the pain caused by people we are in relationship with, family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, that hurt the most, and can sometimes even feel like small deaths. With these type of relationships, forgiveness means we renounce vengeance and retaliation, but it does not mean that we need to be abused. When we think that forgiveness means that we continually offer ourselves up to be mistreated or diminished again and again. Forgiveness also doesn’t mean we ignore an incident on the outside and get angry about it on the inside, allowing it to get stuck inside of us. When we do this, it is both unhealthy, and gives the other person power over us. 
But I also think Jesus is speaking to Peter here about a more basic problem as well - how do you forgive others who do not seem to repent? Those who can’t say they are sorry or aren’t even aware that they have wronged us. Those who don’t change their behaviors or don’t know how to ask for forgiveness. In those cases it is so much harder to forgive or say that you will only forgive if someone asks for forgiveness. But remember that these are people you are in relationship with, so you need to ask, is this worth losing a relationship over? In most cases, the answer is going to be no. So we keep forgiving, but are in conversation with the one who wronged us, slowly chipping away at the wrongdoings. 

Forgiveness is difficult. It requires us to examine ourselves, to pray, to choose mercy over justice, and to remember that forgiving is not the same as condoning. But forgiveness also becomes easier the more we practice it and the more we remember that we are forgiven by God. May we leave this place and seek to be people marked by forgiving hearts and follow the path of mercy, in order to proclaim the love of our Lord and Savior. Amen. 

Sunday, February 1, 2015

“Prayers: Wow!” Psalm 98:1 Psalm 86:10 Isaiah 25:1

Today we conclude our sermon series on three different types of prayer. The first week of our series we looked at the most common type of prayer that many of us offer to God, “help” - help for me or help for someone else, help for our broken world. The second week we explored another type of prayer commonly offered “thank you”. Perhaps one of the first prayers we learn to offer around the family dinner table. However, this week we are going to dive into a prayer that we do not pray often enough “wow.”
Author Anne Lamott states, “Wow, is often offered with a gasp, a sharp intake of breath, when we can’t think of another way to capture the sight of shocking beauty”. Wow are prayers of amazement. Prayers of praise for those things in life so beautiful that we take our breath away. A few examples from my own life. 
As I write this sermon I see a picture of the sun setting over a bay of water. Orange and full as it disappears in its brilliance through clouds scattered across the sky. I can tell you the exact spot where that picture was taken and that it reminds me of the conversation I was having with a dear friend shortly before it was taken about who God is and why we need God in our lives. That picture and the conversation surrounding it are intricately linked and remind me of just how beautiful, grand, powerful, and creative God is. 
And as I write this sermon the picture of my computer is one that simply takes my breath away. It is of a sunrise on a farm. The entire sky is yellow and deep orange. I can tell you that when that picture was taken, I had barely slept in days. It was taken on the morning I was camping. When I woke up before everyone else to be in a time of prayer, but instead the only prayer I could utter was “Wow, God.” In that moment I felt enveloped by God’s peace and presence. Which I am reminded of every time I look at this picture. 
“Wow” moments like this, and so many others are connected to wonder and lead us to worship. Wow moments can come from reading a piece of poetry, seeing a beautiful sight, coming alongside a child who is learning new things. They can shine forth in nature or ring true in our hearts through music. Wow moments cause us to realize something new about God’s love for us or capture our heart anew with an old truth that we have too quickly forgotten. The Psalmists this morning reminds us that God has done glorious things and is worthy of our praise - do we live like this? 
More “wow” moments from my own life. When I was in college I traveled with a group of religion students over winter break to Israel, right after the boarders had been reopened. All around us we saw signs of destruction and the pain of two groups in a seemingly endless battle. But in the midst of so many breaking hearts, we entered into an old cathedral make of large stones and with high ceilings. Without any prompting we started to sing the Doxology together, as our voices echoed against the stone. We made a joyful noise unto the Lord.
In seminary I was required to lead an interactive Christian Education class in the chapel. It was a long lesson, and I was cleaning up the chapel getting ready for our service of communion and prayer. As I was cleaning I was humming one of my favorite praise songs when all of a sudden someone across the room started to sing out loud the words I was thinking in my mind “Lord I’m ready for a change, only you can make me change.” We started to sing with one another until we heard a gasp - another seminary student was standing behind us. He told us that the harmony and words we were singing we rippling through his heart. 
The prophets, the Psalmists, the gospel writers, and the apostles all tell us the same thing about God - God alone is to be praised. God alone has done great and wondrous things. In the words of today’s prayer - God alone deserves our amazement - but do we live this way? Do we first think of God when we are cuddling with a cooing newborn, or hugging a beloved friend, or reading a passage in a book that stirs something in our spirits? Do these powerful life moments lead us to praise God? Or do we too quickly take them for grantit. 
Some people who study language believe that “wow” is a contraction of “I vow”. I vow to remember. I vow to never forget. I vow to cherish this moment. Do we live like that? Do we proclaim prayers of amazement enough in our lives? Do we thank God for those moments that leave us almost speechless and transform something inside of us? Those moments that act like a mini-resurrection, bringing us closer to God and reminding us that God is ultimately in control? 
The sad truth is that sometimes we look past the great gifts that God is trying to offer us - those moments of amazement. We forget what Isaiah is trying to speak to the people about - that we are to exalt God, praising God’s name, because God is faithful in giving us more gifts than we can ever deserve. 
One last example of a moment of amazement from my life - an experience was at my first year of the Creation Concert, Christian Woodstock. As I was just letting go and singing my heart out to God during one of the Newsboys concerts, there were not one, not two, but three shooting stars that came across the sky. We later found out that the appearance of three shooting stars together rarely happens but it was a God-moment for me. I could only gasp and hold my hands up in praise. 
Now there were over fifty thousand people in the open field that evening who could have and should have sen those stars. But only a few of us did and spoke about them later. Why? Because sometimes we live our lives as if we are too busy to take notice of the moments God is trying to gift us with. We don’t live with intentionally or we overlook the work of God’s gracious hand. 
I want to challenge us as we go forth this week to do two things: First, think back to your own life over the moments of amazement - those moments that took your breath away and drew you closer to God. If you haven’t thanked God for those times, take time to do so this week. Write them down and pray over them. Secondly, be open and attentive to the “wow” moments around you this week - because I promise you they exist. Live in such a way that doesn’t take for granite all that God is trying to give you. All that God is trying to do to draw you into worship. 

Let us go forth being the people who proclaim “how, O God, can I keep from singing your praise” because of all of the amazing things God is doing amongst and through us. Amen!